The Rebuild Begins...

[Trav]

Good post, I'd agree with most of what u said with the exception of Thomson. Haven't been a big fan of him going back to last season and still not now. For a high former 1st round pick he should be among the top d-men in the division and I don't think he is but that's my opinion. If a team wanted him and was willing to give up a pick and a prospect, I'd take it.

[curwie]

Well, we can't let the Pats have all the action in their forum. So it's time to post something in here again...

Hobbs remains on the block so far today, after an initial scare he was going to be part of the Klimchuk deal. There's still talk of him going to Regina for Burroughs, which would make the Pats a real handful for the Blades the next few seasons. I really like the direction the Pats are moving this season. They seem to be going in a direction the Blades need to follow IMO.

Rather than talk about who the Blades should trade, I thought I would put up a list of who they shouldn't trade (because it's shorter), and my thoughts why. I'm not factoring things like who we have to replace traded players now, or any other logistical issues. Some guys left off the list couldn't really be moved/dropped until the end of the season, because we simply don't have replacements. My list below is simply the players currently on roster that I would like to see form part of the core moving forward.

Goalies



Nik Amundrud - He's looking more and more like the future of the organization in net. The Blades appear to favor him over Martin. While I prefer Martin's style of play, Amundrud is growing on me quickly.

Trevor Martin - I think Dorrin Luding, the Blade's '99 prospect who just led his team to the Mac's Midget championship, may supplant Martin as the backup next season. But I like Martin and have him only a tick behind Amundrud at the moment. Age may work against him if he's close with Luding in camp next season though.

Defense

Jordan Thomson - The most offensive of the three, but still has one of the better +/- ratings (for what that's worth on this team). He is also more experienced than the other two put together. I'd like to see more of the speed that allowed him to catch Steel on a breakaway the other night.

Schael Higson - Broke his wrist in preseason. He still looked promising before Christmas, and even better since the break. He is the most physical of the Blades defensemen while managing to stay out of the box at the same time. Good progress so far this season.

Nolan Reid - Gets it done with one of the best +/- ratings on D (again, FWIW). Also got an award at yesterday's game for the hardest working defenseman for December. Will need to add some size to play top 4 minutes full time, but has the skill and apparently the work ethic. I like work ethic...

Forwards

Nikita Soshnin - I think it was a smart coaching move by Woods to create more ice time for Soshnin. He plays much bigger than his size, skates hard, and provides skill we are lacking. One of the three 97's critical to the team's success in the next couple of years.

Cameron Hebig - Probably not having the draft year he had hoped (partly because his line mate Graham isn't pulling his weight). Still, another hard-working forward with plenty of talent and the ability to head north in a hurry.

Wyatt Sloboshan - It's going to be hard to jump back into full action mid-season and produce the way he was at the start. He will nonetheless be a welcome addition to take ice time from less talented and less motivated forwards. He shows up to play every game.

Luke Gingras - The only '98 forward on the roster. Definitely has the size to chew up minutes in the league. Once he learns to better balance the physical and skilled play (he needs to remember that little black thing on the ice sometimes), he could be a real gem.

I don't have time today to go through your post cause I have to go shovel 25 driveways. Lol

I will say this. I sure appreciate your well thought out posts. I agree with most of what you say. That play Thomson made on Steel the other night was incredible. Easy my favourite play of the game.

[EastDivFan]

Good post, I'd agree with most of what u said with the exception of Thomson. Haven't been a big fan of him going back to last season and still not now. For a high former 1st round pick he should be among the top d-men in the division and I don't think he is but that's my opinion. If a team wanted him and was willing to give up a pick and a prospect, I'd take it.

You may get your wish Trav. There's something weird with Thomson IMO. He sat out way to long with that concussion injury from a seemingly minor hit. And then he went back home and a lot of people thought he wouldn't be coming back to the team. Now he's returned and getting piles of ice. Maybe the Blades are shopping him around. Can't get much closer to home than Saskatoon, and I think homesickness is a big part of why things didn't work out in Kamloops for him. We'll know for sure in the next few days I guess. He has talent, is relatively young, and appears to have decent effort, which is why I included him. I'd still entertain a trade for some combination of a '96 or younger D and/or picks though.

[Uknownothing]

Personally I think we are not going to see any changes ,why because we don't have anything to offer or don't wont to give up what we have(Higson,Ried,Hebig,Gingras,Slobshan,Soshin,Amu ndrud,and yes Graham).There are guys that I would like to see gone but what are you replacing them with? probably the same thing.Keep the picks and use them .Stay the course of drafting and develop . The rebuild might be quicker then panicking like we did with letting Ottenbreit go.

[Madmax]

Personally I think we are not going to see any changes ,why because we don't have anything to offer or don't wont to give up what we have(Higson,Ried,Hebig,Gingras,Slobshan,Soshin,Amu ndrud,and yes Graham).There are guys that I would like to see gone but what are you replacing them with? probably the same thing.Keep the picks and use them .Stay the course of drafting and develop . The rebuild might be quicker then panicking like we did with letting Ottenbreit go.

I agree. The teams that feel they have a chance are basically done collecting what they feel are the final pieces of the puzzle. Might see someone like Stovin move, but it would be minor. Nobody is going to step up and throw first round picks and prospects at the Blades for what they have left. Amundrud might be the only exception, but don't see it happening.

[Trav]

I think we'll see a couple. Until Hobbs is traded, the Blades are interested in him. Wait and see.

[curwie]

I think we'll see a couple. Until Hobbs is traded, the Blades are interested in him. Wait and see.

Agreed. Also heard there is a lot of interest in Henry from a couple different people.

[BigCat20]

I will be very surprised if Henry isn't moved! Mckechnie could be moved, esp the way he's played the last couple wks.

[EastDivFan]

A couple of thought's after watching tonight's lackluster performance...

• I think Thomson's hockey ability resides in his hair. He was missing his flow during the national anthem. And that's far and away the worst game he's played this year.
  
• Our fourth line needs to learn to take a pass. I don't know how many times they've pooched tape to tape passes...it seems like every shift. I'm still not convinced a couple of them have the skill to play in the league long term.
  
• Our forwards need to learn to play as part of a system in the offensive zone, instead of three one man shows. For example, Zajac likes to wheel the puck behind the net, and then carry it all the way up near the blue line before dumping it off to a D man six feet away, leaving him no time or space to do anything. Hebig does the same behind the net move, comes out on the other side, looks off two wide open defensemen and at least one other forward with a better shot before putting his head down and charging into the slot to rifle it into the goalies crest.
  
• I want half my money back for each game for the rest of the season...representing the thirty minutes per night I have to watch Henry...he makes me want to kick kittens. He hooks a guy off the second period faceoff with Zajac. Stupid in itself. But he wasn't going to get called for it, until he threw his arms up in the air (as usual...nothing's ever his fault) and helped the ref change his mind. Now we're down 5 on 3 in tie game. A minute later it's 3-1 for Everett. Henry's out of the box and in the doghouse right? Nope. He's out on the ice for the faceoff. ARRRGH!!!
  
• Higson made me look smart tonight, pitching him and Reid for more ice time. He made a few hits early that were considerably better than Forsberg's bump into towering Ben Betker that got Hit of the Game. Then he absolutely destroyed 19-next-week former Blade Graham Millar in the middle of the second in a fight. Millar had been beaking all his former teammates, especially after scoring the second goal with Henry in the box. Higson definitely broke his nose, and looks to have broken his jaw as well. I hate to see a kid get hurt like that, but Millar won't be yapping the next time he's in town I'm sure.

http://whl.uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/...najOqmhzXKo%3D

[curwie]

Higsons really starting to grow on me. He just keeps getting better. That scrap was a thing of beauty.